Doing the work the New Jersey Republican Party won't do....

After weeks of unreturned emails, and a fair amount of fruitless searching, I finally came up with the name of the Republican opponent to Rush Holt in New Jersey's 12th Congressional district.

Good work in getting the name out there, NJ-GOP.

Anyway, he's a nice enough fellow named Alan Bateman, currently the mayor of Holmdel, a main-street Jersey type of town harboring around 16,000 residents. He holds rational views on energy, taxation, and the economy, but if a candidate campaigns in the woods and nobody hears him, does he make a sound?

Speaking of rational vs. irrational, let's go Bateman vs. Holt on energy:

Lines were drawn Tuesday in the race for a seat representing the state's 12th Congressional District, as Republican challenger Alan Bateman outlined his plan to reduce energy costs that Democratic incumbent Rush D. Holt called partisan politics.

Bateman, a Holmdel committeeman, was joined by state Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr., R-Monmouth, as he outlined his energy plan Tuesday at an afternoon conference held at the commuter parking lot off Garden State Parkway Exit 109 in Middletown.

The plan calls for lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling and a commitment to generating 20 percent of the country's energy needs through alternative sources, such as biofuels, solar, wind and nuclear power, Bateman said during a telephone interview.

"The whole area of energy and gas prices really is a huge concern," Bateman said. "It's impacting all aspects of people's lives — from driving to the cost to heat and cool their homes and other goods they buy. It's negatively impacting on the quality of life."

But Bateman's plan is a party line and will do nothing to solve the energy crisis, according to a statement released by Holt.

What is Holt's nonpartisan solution?

Holt, a former scientist running an alternative energy lab at Princeton University, said his energy plan would tax oil companies' profits to provide $1,000 energy rebates for families and decrease foreign oil consumption through promoting cleaner domestic energy.

"I would urge Mr. Bateman to join me in a less partisan and more thoughtful approach to actually solving our energy crisis," Holt said in the release.

Ah, higher taxes and inaginary new technologies! That's always the solution, isn't it, Mr. Holt? And how do you think the oil companies are going to recoup the socialist redistribution of their wealth?

What's that? Price regulation, you say? Gee, that worked out so well in the '70's....

Funny how Holt can accuse Bateman of being "partisan" when he toes the line of the most left-wing elements of the Democratic party....this, from a man who votes almost 98% of the time with his party's hacks.

OK, Alan, I've done what I can (and likely given you more links in this one post than anyone else currently residing on the web). I realize you are funded about as well as, hmmm...a mayoral rather than a Congressional candidate, but let's try to get your name out there a bit, OK? Bill Spadea ran an honorable and exciting campaign against Holt in 2004 and took 40% of the vote, among the highest of any Republican taking on a Democratic incumbant. Even if you can't win the damn thing, work the energy a bit and get some turnout to help the other Republicans who will be fighting a media-aided Democratic onslaught in 2008.

Good luck, Alan.

His blog can be found here...